Words ending in 'gry' - This old chestnut

Posted by TheFallen on May 15, 2003

In Reply to: Words ending in 'gry' posted by Kit on May 15, 2003

: : Hey guys, need help!

: : Got this e-mail this morning, had it before but can't remember how to solve it. Any chance one of you knows the answer?... I'm guessing it has something to do with ONE...

: : A RIDDLE THAT'LL KILL YOUR BRAIN!
: :
: : This is going to make you so MAD! There are three words in the English language that end in "gry". ONE is angry and the other is hungry. EveryONE knows what the third ONE means and what it stands for. EveryONE uses them everyday, and if you listened very carefully, I've given you the third word. What is it?

: : _______gry?

: : The answer would be appreciated!!!

: P.s. Sorry, I know it isn't exactly a phrase!!!

Okay. This one has done the rounds for years and years, and it's a trick question. There are only two common words in the English language that end in -gry, and they are, as you say, angry & hungry. There are actually over 100 other words to be found in huger English dictionaries that do end in -gry, but these can hardly be described as common - e.g. aggry, puggry and meagry.

All the versions of this question that do the rounds are based on trickery, and dependant upon how the question is phrased, different answers are possible. In some cases, the question has become corrupted or misheard, so no answer is possible. However, for example, a potential answer to your version of the question is the word "one".

I'm providing a link to a website that examines this "riddle" in depth.